Gladys Arlene Colbert, 93, of Champaign passed away peacefully at 5:30 A.M. on Tuesday morning (Sept. 17, 2013). Gladys Hall, known to her family and friends as Hap, was born in Cambridge, Mass. to Albert and Georgina Scott Hall on March 8, 1920. She married Harold Reichard Colbert of Urbana on February 13, 1944 at University Place Christian Church, Champaign. Harold preceded Gladys in death on March 10, 2012. Hap and Harold celebrated 68 happy years of marriage together. Hap's early life was spent in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania and her love for the East Coast never waivered. In 1938, Gladys graduated from Philadelphia's Frankford High School where she remained a devoted alumna and continued to follow her alma mater closely over the years and was able to attend several class reunions. Upon the start of WWII, Hap began working as a nurse's aid at a Philadelphia hospital where she also taught First Aid classes. Gladys, along with her two sisters Ethel and Gerri, often attended big-band and USO dances having fun jitterbugging the night away to the sounds of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. It was during the war years that Hap met Harold and their courtship began. Following Harold's redeployment, the two married and moved to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri where Harold was stationed until the end of the war. The couple then relocated to Harold's hometown, Champaign-Urbana, where he started his business, Harold R. Colbert Plumbing and Heating Co., where Hap worked as bookkeeper. She also worked at The University of Illinois' Administration Building in the early years of their marriage. Together, they built their family home on West Clark Street in Champaign from the ground up while raising four children: Marc, Beki, Rick, and Leslie. From 1968 - 1985, Hap worked as a bookkeeper for Champaign Unit 4 School District in the Mellon Building. She was excellent with numbers and was known for meticulously balancing the books down to the penny. Besides working and raising a family, Hap was quite active in the Champaign -Urbana Community Woman's Club, a local charitable organization. She was a 1956 founding member and was involved with the club for over 40 years. While a member, Hap served as corresponding secretary, recording secretary, as well as on several committees. She was active in the Tom Thumb Theater and participated in fashion shows hosted by the club. Once retired from Unit 4, Hap volunteered at Carle Hospital delivering mail to patients from 1996 - 2007 logging well over 1500 hours. She also routinely gave the gift of life by donating close to 5 gallons of blood to the Champaign County Blood Bank. Hap enjoyed playing bridge and was a member of a bridge club, where she made several life-long friends. She and Harold were members of Indian Acres Swim Club as well as "couples club" where they'd enjoy dinner parties with close friends. In addition, Hap and Harold regularly attended the 19th Combat Engineer Regiment reunions, which were held at various locations around the country. They both remained close friends with several of Harold's war buddies and their wives and always looked forward to the WWII reunions. Over the years, Hap and Harold enjoyed traveling throughout the country, as well as several trips to Hawaii to visit Hap's sister, Ethel, and husband, Sam. And, of course, when the family was young they spent many vacations at the Jersey Shore with sister Gerri's family and Ethel and Sam. Hap also enjoyed traveling to Barbados and Canada. Gladys was a patriot and loved her country. She read the local newspaper daily and followed current events and politics with interest. She enjoyed U.S. history and was quite the grammarian. Hap was an excellent cook and routinely entertained family and friends. Her specialty were pies, particularly coconut custard and lemon meringue. She continued to bake every Saturday morning well into her 80's and everyone always looked forward to and enjoyed her wonderful dinners and desserts! Hap's devotion to family was her defining characteristic. She devoted most of her adult life to her husband, her children, her grandkids, her sisters, and her parents. Her devotion was recently evidenced by her loving care of Harold in his final days. Hap loved her family and was always there for each and every one of them. She was a kind, loving, and generous person who was deeply loved and admired by all who knew her. Gladys is survived by her four children, son, Marc (JoAnne) Colbert of Lincolnshire; daughter, Beki Colbert of Soquel, Calif. and her partner Steve; son, Rick (Cathy) of Mansfield; and daughter, Leslie Colbert Baker (Mark) of Farmington Hills, Mich. Also surviving are seven grandchildren. Codi (Jamie), Roth (Tina), H.R., Jake, and Mia Colbert and Austin (Jennifer) and Trevor Baker; as well as three great-grandchildren: Raiden, Roman, and Corbin. Gladys is also survived by her sister, Ethel Bird, of Honolulu, Hawaii, and numerous loving nieces and nephews. Besides Harold, Gladys was preceded in death by her parents, sister Hazel, and sister Gerri Wylie of Philadelphia. A memorial service will be held Sunday, September 22 at 12:30 P.M. at University Place Christian Church in the Fisher Chapel. The church is located at 403 S. Wright St., Champaign. A luncheon at the church will immediately follow the service. A private burial will be held at Woodlawn Cemetery, Urbana. Memorials in Gladys' honor may be made to University Place Christian Church or the Community Blood Services of Illinois.